Perth Glory is delighted to confirm that experienced central defender Mark Beevers has signed a two-year contract with the club.
The 32-year-old Englishman arrives having spent the last three years with Peterborough United, during which time he was named in the League One Team of the Season and skippered the side as they won promotion to the Championship.
Prior to his stint with Peterborough, the former England Under-19 international played 140 times for Sheffield Wednesday and also chalked up over 100 games for both Millwall and Bolton Wanderers.
The 1.93m, left-footed defender, who combines a commanding physical presence with composure in possession, is relishing the prospect of playing overseas for the first time in his career.
“It’s an idea I’ve been exploring for a while now,” he said, “it’s something that I really want to do and I’m really excited about it.
“It’s a brand new challenge and completely different to what I’ve been used to over the last 15 years in the UK.
“It kind of all fell into place with Andy Keogh retiring and becoming Head of Recruitment at the club, so I had a direct point of contact with Andy.
“I’ve looked at some clips and I know a few people who are playing out there [in the A-League], like Adam Le Fondre, Craig Noone, Jay O’Shea, David Ball and Zach Clough and they’re really enjoying it.
“I’ve had a good chat with the manager [Ruben Zadkovich] and he kind of laid down what he expects from me and what he’s seen in me and in terms of ambition, it’s as simple as winning games.
“Purple’s not a colour I’ve played in before, but it looks great and everything about the club looks great!”
Zadkovich believes that Beevers is a very significant signing for the club.
“Beeves will bring a wealth of experience and quality to our defensive structures,” he said.
“He has a very commanding presence, is a natural leader and is very tough in the contest.
“He has captained clubs at Championship level and played pivotal roles in successful teams.
“Mark knows the sacrifices and effort it takes to be successful at an elite level and he will be a great character to have in the dressing room and more importantly, out on the grass in the heat of battle.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Keogh.
“We are delighted to get Mark over the line and he was very keen to explore coming out here to our beautiful State,” he said.
“His experience and communication will be a key to helping our young assets grow and learn.
“A great character and leader on and off the pitch, he has a lot of quality to add to our team.”
Barnsley-Born Beevers began his career with Sheffield Wednesday having come through the youth ranks at Hillsborough, debuting for the club in 2007, being named the club’s Player of the Year in 2008 and representing the Owls regularly in both the Championship and League One.
After loan spells with MK Dons and Millwall, he joined the latter on a permanent basis in 2013 and would go on to spend a total of five seasons as a key part of the Lions’ defence.
Bolton Wanderers was the next port of call for Glory’s new recruit and it was during his first season with Wanderers that he was named in the PFA League One Team of the Year as the Lancashire club clinched promotion.
He continued to be a regular starter in the Championship for the following two campaigns and then enjoyed another League One promotion, this time with Peterborough, whom he joined in 2019.
And it was during United’s promotion campaign in 2020-21 that Beevers was again named in the League One Team of the Year.
In total, he has amassed 557 senior appearances in his career to date and scored 26 goals.
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